Only 14 new cases but 2 more deaths were reported this morning in the West Piedmont Health District. The Virginia Department of Health added those points — there were no new hospitalizations — to its database as of 5 p.m. Saturday. The deaths could have happened anytime in the past couple of months, because VDH goes evaluates death certificates and other reports before adding to its database. VDH tracks all data by residence, and we know these two deaths were the 38th in Patrick County and 61st in Franklin County. These 2 deaths make 29 already this month, 150 this year and 282 overall in the district. The 14 cases was the second-lowest single-day total since September and dropped the 7-day rolling average to 16. The average per 100,000 population is now 11.7, the lowest points seen since September. Franklin County had 6 of the cases, and Patrick County had 5. Henry County had the other 3. Martinsville didn’t have any new cases and has only had 4 in the past 4 days. Since the pandemic began, the district has had 10,724 cases, 639 hospitalizations and 282 deaths….There were been eight new victims reported as of Saturday morning by the Virginia Department of Health. There were two on Friday and six on Saturday. VDH also reported that a deadly outbreak dating back to Dec. 8 had re-emerged at the Stanleytown Health & Rehabilitation Center, and the facility again was listed among active outbreaks at long-term-care facilities, meaning new cases have been diagnosed….On Monday, for the first time since last March, there will be students in classrooms of Martinsville City Public Schools….Roughly a third of students in Henry County Public Schools have opted so far to continue fully virtual learning when school buildings reopen on a limited basis starting Wednesday, officials said….Friday’s report by the University of Virginia Biocomplexity Institute was one of cautious optimism about the development of the COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia….An exhausted Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Saturday as President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums….The NBA is expecting arenas to be filled again next season and a return to its normal calendar, Commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday, while cautioning again that every plan is contingent on continued progress in the ongoing fight against the coronavirus….The Virginia Department of Health reports this morning there have been 585,700 cases and 9,596 deaths statewide — up by 77 since Saturday. Some 24,661 people have been hospitalized. Henry County has had 4,240 cases, with 289 hospitalizations and 117 deaths. Martinsville has had 1,512 cases, with 128 hospitalizations and 66 deaths. Patrick County has had 1,230 cases including 93 hospitalizations and 38 deaths. Franklin County has had 3,742 cases, 129 hospitalizations and 61 deaths. Danville has reported 4,392 cases (112 deaths), and Pittsylvania County has had 4,778 (70 deaths). Johns Hopkins University’s real-time map showed 116,618,736 cases worldwide and 2,589,804 deaths. In the U.S. there have been 28,953,407 cases and 524,364 deaths because of COVID-19.
(113) updates to this series since Updated
